Verbing sCULpTURE (SCU4121.01)

Tracey Cockrell

The word ‘sculpture’ contains the word ‘culture’ reminding us that in making objects, we not only make our world, but we also encode it with our own personal values and ways of seeing. Our choices in material, process, and idea are linked to personal sensibilities or affinities, aptitudes, tendencies of thinking and making. These choices encode the work being made. As we engage in ‘sculptural thinking’, we develop our abilities to shift our perspective to embrace different points of view, different ways of seeing and valuing, to move beyond what is familiar and to see the world in new ways.

This course invites students to investigate sculpture as language and as activated object. Can sculpture exist as an instruction, an action, or as evidence of that action? Can sculpture act as an intervention? Or perform and respond to interaction? Can sculpture be impermanent, change, or even disappear? Our focus will be on alternative contemporary approaches in sculpture. Use this class to experiment in sculpture, and to explore new ideas and modes of making. The explorations in this class should be constructed to expand your voice. Through making and experimentation and embracing the studio as a site for physical thinking, this course asks students to explore artistic methodologies for making and disseminating new work, questioning their role as artists in a radically changing cultural landscape. Small is ok, experimentation is encouraged, test-drive your ideas, go out on a limb.


Learning Outcomes:
-Students will become more aware of their roles as communicators— more thorough,
analytical, and thoughtful authors and makers— and more critical thinkers as they
construct and discuss sculpture.
-Integrate personal interests and other course subject matter into three-dimensional
explorations.
-Demonstrate an awareness of the historical precedents and contemporary strategies
relevant to sculptural work.
-Develop confidence in presenting and discussing work during group critiques and one on
ones.
-Understand the social impact and cultural relevance of their sculptural explorations.
-Respect and be tolerant of other creative explorations occurring in the course.


Delivery Method: Remotely accessible
Prerequisites: One Sculpture or one Art History course.
Course Level: 4000-level
Credits: 4
M/Th 7:00PM-8:50PM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 25
Course Frequency: One time only

Categories: All courses , Remotely Accessible , Sculpture , Updates
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